Drabbles
by KaylenDarkfire
Summary: As the title implies, this will be where I put short stories that I want to make aside from my main two stories. In the definition of Drabbles, though, it says 100 word maximum and in these stories I will definitely pass that. I hope you all enjoy anyway.
1. Summer Camp Trip

"Yes, yes, I love you too mom." Abby said exasperatedly as her mother hugged her for the twentieth time. "It's just a few weeks away at some dumb camp for the sports kids." Ty snickered to which Abby and Petunia shot him a glare.

"I know it is sweetie but I just really am not use to you kids going away for so long so I'm just trying to give you a lot of love. Oh!" She pulled Abby into one last hug before Abby boarded the bus.

"Bring me something back please!" Ty yelled to Abby with a laugh, waving to her as the bus doors closed. The girl rolled her eyes at her brothers request and looked for a spot to sit in, noting Paige and her cronies sitting amongst the cheer leading squad.

"Hey Abby." Paige called. "You excited for weeks away from this place and our parents super vision?" She gave a wink and a majority of the cheer leaders laughed. Abby rolled her eyes good naturedly and smiled.

"Yeah, as ready as I can be." She wasn't so sure to call Paige her friend yet but they had definitely been on better terms than before, their rivalry having died down to friendly competition now. A friendship could happen if they hung out more.

As she browsed the bus for a seat, a waving hand caught her eye. "You can sit with me Abby." It was Naomi. She was attending this trip along with the dance group she was in.

"Thanks." Abby sat, giving an appreciative smile before the bus drove off. At first, Abby was pretty contempt with just riding in silence until she noticed Greg staring from across the bus. He gave a wave and Abby couldn't help but get flustered and wave back, unable to keep the small noise from leaving her mouth. Greg laughed quietly and turned back to talking with his friends. He was only here because he was part of the year book club and was going to be taking photos of this whole event.

Abby, embarrassed of her actions, buried her face in her hands with a groan. That noise was not flattering in any way. It almost sounded like a pig getting strangled.

"What's wrong Abby? Are you getting car sick?" Naomi asked, placing a hand gently on her shoulder.

"What? No." Abby sat back up and sighed. "No, it's nothing. I'm just, uh, I was just collecting myself." Abby looked forward, noticing Paige giving her a 'What was that?' type of face. She shook her head and Paige dismissed it. The rest of the bus ride was driven with silence from Abby.

* * *

When they finally arrived, the group of students hurriedly rushed out of the bus to stretch and examine the place. It was like a much nicer camp Kaibo and much bigger. Abby looked around the camp with the other students before all were ushered into what she assumed to be the mess hall, with it's tables and kitchen area.

"Students," Principle Robertson called, gesturing for them to all hush. "I'm glad you're all as excited about this as I am but I need you all to please shush for a minute while the camp instructor introduces himself and gets you all settled." She stepped aside, allowing for a shorter, portly man, in his mid thirties to step up in her place. He had a bushy black mustache and eyebrows to match and looked serious, like he'd never been happy or ever would be and his attire matched that of a P.E. coach with a blue polo shirt, black shorts, a white baseball cap, and white shoes.

"Alright students!" He shouted, his voice husky and showing his age. "For the next four weeks, I will be your camp counselor! Your principle and teachers will be leaving you all with me so that we can have weeks of fun. I, of course, will not be working alone and will be helped by my two assistants."

On cue, a boy and a girl in their early to mid twenties stepped out, standing at each of his sides. "I am Counselor Cornelius but you can just call me Counselor Corn for short." This got most of the students laughing. "Yes, glad that worked." He mumbled before continuing. "And these two are my niece and nephew, David and Darla." The two waved at the students, smiling wide. They both looked fit and happy, the picture perfect idea of camp guidance. "Any questions?" Corn asked, surveying the students as he passed them up. After a long silence, he nodded, letting the principal take over again.

"Well, students, I hope you all have a great time here. You've earned it and I, along with two other teachers and a bus driver, will be back for you in four weeks. Have a good one!" She waved as she left back to the bus with the two other teachers. The students watched them go before a whistle was blown, catching their attention. Corn had blown it and was now pointing to both his niece and nephew.

"David and Darla here will take you all to your cabins and sort you out while I get lunch ready with the chefs and prep for the activities tomorrow."

"Guys, follow me!" David called.

"And ladies, with me!" Darla added. The students were separated and already feeling anxious and excited, all at once, now that the teachers and principle were gone.

Abby along with the rest of the female student body followed Darla to one side of the camp while she began to recite rules.

"So, no leaving the cabins past curfew which is at 9pm. Do not go anywhere near the guys cabins unless instructed to do so. Do not vandalize, do not steal food or any materials, do not harass or fight while on camp, and do not mess with any wild animals you might see." Darla was checking off all these rules on a clip board she had while Abby and a majority of the girls rolled their eyes.

Finally, they came to the cabins and Darla did roll call while simultaneously sending the students and their new roommates the cabins. Abby's cabin was the last to be called. "Cabin 7, your students are Abigail Archer, Naomi Fitspa, Paige Logan, and Marge Terrins." The five girls headed into their cabin, Darla yelling to all the students that lunch would be ready in an hour.

As the door closed behind Marge, she started laughing, saying "Wow, Paige, doesn't she remind you of yourself when you get into your 'oh, I'm in charge' mode? Well, you know, except she's nice about it."

"Oh, shut up Marge. I am not like that." Paige snapped, hiding her smile as she started unpacking. Abby hadn't formally met Marge before but did recognize her as one of the girls that would help her set up for plays and that was also part of the volleyball team. She had dark skin and long lushes hair but, like Abby, she had it tied back in a ponytail.

With a sigh, she decided to just lie down for now and unpack later, choosing the lower bunk from one of the two bunk beds in the room. Naomi climbed to the top bunk and smiled down at her. "You tired already Abby? But it's only the first day."

The red head shook her head in response. "No, I'm not tired. I just, ugh, I feel kind of dumb about that weird noise I made earlier in front of Greg when he waved at me."

"You mean the pig snarl?" Paige asked, both her and Marge laughing.

" _ **Yes!**_ " Abby said, covering her face, the embarrassment washing over her again. "How can I face him after making that noise?"

"Hey, don't sweat it Abby." Marge said, waving her hand. "People mess up in front of the people they like all the time. It's normal and I'm sure Greg isn't going to mock you about it or anything. He might mention it but he seems like a nice guy."

"And he's not." Paige added, dreamily staring out the window toward the boys cabins. "I wonder why he's single."

"Maybe he has a crush on someone?" Naomi suggested, bringing a course of agreement from the other three.

"If he does, _I hope it's me_!" Paige said, getting a glare from Abby. "What? I'm just being honest. I know you like him and that's cool but, like, I also like him. So..." She trailed off, Abby only narrowing her eyes.

"So...what?" She asked, but Paige only shrugged.

"So ya'll gotta fight! Duke it out and the winner gets to be Gregs love interest!" Marge declared, laughing. The three girls all laughed before moving on from the subject, discussing what activities would be awaiting them in the following weeks. Abby was genuinely having a good time talking, momentarily getting lost in the conversation and forgetting her earlier woe. And then the whistle was blown, calling them all to have lunch.

As the group made their way there, Abby became more excited about the weeks to come, feeling that she was going to have a great time here. Her mood was only made better as she got a wave from a certain blonde boy in the mess hall, sitting a couple of tables away with his friends.


	2. Near Death Experience

Story 2: A Near Death Experience

Pain. That's all Ty could remember feeling as thought and feeling started to return. Then memories came back. He and Abby were together, fighting. They'd been fighting against Insectiva and another beast she'd made, this one much worse than anything she'd made previously. They fought as hard as they could, but Ty became wounded, stabbed in his leg by the creature's stinger.

After that, all he could feel and think was pain. It was unimaginable, so much greater than anything he'd ever felt before. It was enough to drive someone mad. He remembered screaming until his energy and tolerance had drained, and darkness consumed him. No thoughts, no feelings, nothing; just darkness.

He was still in darkness now but slowly things were coming back; after his thoughts and memories, soon came feelings and he felt...cold. Not an 'I'm freezing' cold but in some way that was hard to explain. As if something inside him had been shut off.

Once feeling returned, he opened his eyes quickly and looked around. He didn't recognize his surroundings at all but he was sitting in a room. It looked like he was in a waiting room of some sort with plastic chairs aligned and facing each other, shelves with books and magazines, and pictures of random scenery on the wall. The only thing was that there was no clock or any windows.

As his eyes scanned around, he eventually met another pair of eyes that were looking back at him. At the end of the room was an office, sealed away from the rest of the waiting room by a wall and a window that the person inside was staring through. She was a woman in her late thirties with a somewhat dark skin tone, contrastingly bright orange hair, and a piercing gaze. She was watching Ty with an expecting look, her hands folded in front of her on the desk.

Ty kept the staring match going for a moment more, trying to process the situation before he finally spoke.

"Where...where am I, ma'am?"

"You're in a waiting room right now. Someone will be attending you shortly." She answered, her gaze not shifting.

"What is this waiting room for? Am I in a doctor's office?" At this, he noticed the eerie silence. "Is there anyone else here?"

"No, no one else is here and no, you're not in a doctor's office. I'm not allowed to inform you of where this place is, I can only inform you to please remain seated while I notify my higher ups that you are here." At this, the woman picked up a black, rotary phone and began to dial.

Ty frowned, not happy with that. Who was he waiting for, if not a doctor, and where the hell was this place? Why was it so quiet? He couldn't hear anything other than his thoughts and the conversation the woman was now having with someone over the phone. He couldn't even hear his own breathing.

At this, he froze and felt his chest with both hands.

"Wha-?" No heartbeat. He plugged his fingers into both ears but couldn't hear a thump from his blood pumping. He felt his wrist. Nothing. A feeling of panic and fear began to creep up onto him and he stood abruptly.

"Yes, now he is and I-." The woman stopped talking when he stood and put the phone away from herself, covering the bottom half of it. "Sir, please sit back down unless you're going to grab a book or magazine." Ty ignored her and looked around the room again, his eyes falling on a door opposite to her office. It was solid white with a golden door knob. It must be an exit, so he reasoned.

"Sir. _Sir!_ " The woman called as he began to approach the door. "Do not go in there! _Do **not**_!"

"Why? What is this place?" Ty snapped.

"I _can't_ tell you! Please, sit back down and wait patiently!" Ty huffed and continued to walk. The exit would help to tell him exactly where he was or at least get him out of the eerie silence and give him other answers.

The woman sighed and began to talk back into the phone.

"He's leaving...What do you mean, 'what do I mean'? **I said he's leaving**! He's going to the door and won't listen...I'm not gonna go near him, no! I don't leave my office ever, not for nobody!...Okay. You should get here soon then, he's about to grab the door knob."

She was right, as Ty had just grabbed the door knob and pushed the door open. As it opened, rather than see another part of the building or the outside world, all that greeted him was darkness, seemingly endless darkness. The only part that was illuminated was his immediate surroundings due to the light from the office and a lantern that was now floating gently in front of him.

" _What?_ " He cried, stepping back, the lantern following so that it was always just in front of him. He gripped the handle and looked forward, holding the lantern up in the hopes that it would help to see what was beyond. It didn't.

As he stared longer, he noticed a creeping coldness, this one more aggressive than before, more uncomfortable. It chilled him to his very core. He shuddered, the cold and a heavy feeling of being watched clinging onto him. He began to hear soft murmurs, faintly at first but growing louder until it almost sounded like multiple people were talking at once around him.

He had a hard time understanding anything, but he continued to catch something relating to the lantern in his hand. Then, suddenly, a pale hand reached out of the darkness toward his lantern. He was so shocked he couldn't move, only stare at the thin, pale, and long nailed hand as it reached forward, soft gasping being heard as it did.

But just before it could actually touch the lantern, he was startled by a hand on his shoulder. It gripped him tight before pulling him, practically throwing him back into the office. He stumbled and fell, the lantern disappearing as soon as he passed the threshold of the doorway back into the office.

Once collected, he glared up at whoever had tossed him in. It was another woman, also around her thirties. She was pale with jet black hair and dressed in a dark robe. She glared down at him, towering over him even as he stood up. 'She has to be at least 7 feet, maybe even 8.' Ty thought to himself as he craned his neck to look up at her.

"I-." He started.

"Yes, _you!_ " Her voice was cold and booming, silencing him. "Don't you know how to listen to people?! If you're instructed to sit and wait, it's for a reason, like someone is coming to see you, so you must wait for them! If you're instructed to not go near a door, _ **guess what**_ ; it's because there's something out there that isn't for you, or worse, could do something bad to you!" As she spoke, she had dipped down in a fluid motion, like a snake, her body bending with her robe concealing it.

"Yeah!" The other woman chimed in. "What, did you think we would just make you wait 'cause we're assholes or something? Like, geez, boy, take a seat and wait a minute." Ty frowned, looking at the woman in the office before turning back to the one that was currently in his face.

"I..." He started again, recomposing himself. "Where am I? What was that out there? And who are you?" The woman glared a little more before backing up and looking behind herself. A moment of silence passed before she answered.

"I suppose we have time for your questions until the decision is made. Fine. Let's go one at a time. Which question do you want answered first?"

"Where am I?" Ty repeated.

"You're in a limbo of sorts that's been nicknamed by most as Death's Waiting Room or Death's Door Step. I call it a waiting room, personally." Ty's face was a cross of confusion and horror, so the woman continued. "You and your sister had been battling an enemy, at which point you were injured. Due to the injury, your heart and body began to give out thus, you came here, where you will remain until it is decided if you will return to the world of the living or are to be taken to where you belong."

Ty gulped, horror gripping him, and he began to tremble. The woman took notice and reached a hand over, gently taking hold of his shoulder now. As she did, his trembling stopped immediately.

She sighed.

"I know it may be a lot to take in, but it's alright. Death is a natural process and rest assured that, should you die, you will not have to face it all alone. I am here to assist you and follow you through the process until you are delivered to your resting place."

"And who are you, then?" Tyler asked. She pulled her hand away.

"I am what you'd call 'The Grim Reaper', but I am only one, as there are many assisting all over the world. And though I am technically an embodiment of Death, as I will be collecting your mortal soul if you pass today, you can call me Lindsey to make this interaction more comfortable." Ty nodded again, thinking over what she had said.

"Okay, um, Lindsey. What was out there?" He pointed to the door which she glanced back at.

"That," she began. "is like an extension of this Limbo. It's a place that lies in between the underworld and the waking world, just like this place. Lost souls dwell there alongside evil entities that are trying to sneak their way into the world of the living to cause mayhem. That's why they were reaching for your lantern." The memory of the lantern flashed in his mind as well as the image of the eerie hand reaching so desperately for it.

"That is a representation of your connection to the living; your body. Should something have gotten its hands on the lantern, it would have been able to transfer to the waking world and awoken in your body with no one being the wiser. Then, we would have gotten the ever so common case of 'young, good boy suddenly turns tail and becomes a monster after recovering from injury that almost killed him.'" Lindsey spoke, waving her hand about. When she noticed a worried look from Ty, she shrugged. "I've seen it happen too many times and it's sad when I receive the family members of the person here, now having been killed by the possessed body of their loved one."

"Okay, that's terrible. But-but what now? Am I really supposed to just wait here until I die?"

"Or live. There's still a chance." The reaper corrected.

"But you're probably gonna die." The woman at the desk said, smirking. Lindsey rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"That's Hilda, my assistant as well as my friend. Don't listen to her when she makes comments like that. She's very pessimistic."

"Hey, if I'm pessimistic, then I'm either right or pleasantly surprised." She said as she filed through papers, sorting them into a cabinet.

"True but it's not good to be so, right now. He's already on edge about this." Lindsey replied as she moved past him to sit in one of the chairs. Ty didn't move from his spot, feeling rooted there, like his legs had turned to stone. Linsey raised an eyebrow and patted the seat beside her. "Are you alright?"

"I-" he started but couldn't continue, his words getting caught in his throat as many emotions began to arise, all wanting to spill over at once. "...I don't want to die." His voice trembled but he was able to keep his emotions under control, which amazed even himself.

The reaper had heard this many times before, from many different people; usually younger ones who had their life tragically taken away. She understood the feeling, as death is what some call 'the ultimate event' and for some, it is the end of all things.

"I know. Very few that have come here accepted their fate so easily. You must be feeling terrified, sad, confused, and overwhelmed by it all." Ty could only bring himself to nod. "Come here." She instructed softly and at this, Ty began to come closer, his body practically moving of its own accord.

Once sitting beside her, she cupped his face in her hands, and he was immediately overcome with a feeling of calm. He released a breath he didn't know he was holding, closing his eyes and sighing as his tense body relaxed and he leaned into her cold but comfortable grasp. When he opened his eyes, Lindsey was smiling at him, her gaze almost hypnotic as he found himself having trouble looking away. He smiled back, commenting, "your eyes are a really nice, green color". Lindsey pulled away and softly laughed.

"Thank you. If you feel overwhelming emotions again, tell me or take my hand. I like to calm those that come by here by sharing my own feelings to them while absorbing their own negative ones. Kind of like how heat is transferred between people and objects." Ty nodded but frowned, looking down.

"Something on your mind?"

"If I die, will I be able to tell my family or friends goodbye?" She pressed her lips together in thought before giving a soft hum. "I... _could_ make that possible. But we can discuss that _if_ you actually end up passing, okay?" He nodded again and the two fell into silence.

It wasn't awkward; if anything, it was comfortable. He was lost in thought, thinking over everything he'd wanted to do with his life and how there's now this huge chance that those things will never come to fruition. One person in particular that came to mind was Naomi, his ever-lasting crush who he'd never had the guts to confess his full affection to. He remembered the last time they spoke, at the end of their last date, and how she'd looked so cute as she retold what had happened at her latest dance practice. If he did pass, Ty was going to really miss her but he'd at least hope that she would move on to better things and a have a happy love life.

As he came back from his thoughts, he saw that Lindsey had been staring at him with a very _knowing_ look, a small smile gracing her face.

"What?" He asked, unable to hold back his own smile.

"Whoever you're thinking about, you should tell them how you feel if you get the chance to."

"How did you know-?"

"That look in your eyes is so familiar. Many, and I mean **many** people have had that look when they wait down here, waiting for the decision or even after a decision has already been made for them." Lindsey said, looking down sadly. "The one thing I suggest to people who get to return to the living world is to take every chance they get, while they can. Tell the person you like how you feel, take that new job opportunity and see where you go, or even just try that new food that looks, kind of, interesting. It could possibly make your life that much better before it's all over." Ty took this in, deciding to take the advice if he was to go back. Then he got an idea.

"So, like, if you're death, does that mean you know a lot about life and the world of the living?"

"Yes." Lindsey said, narrowing her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"I just have a few questions that I want to see if you can answer, just something that I've been wondering and that I'm sure others might be wondering as well."

"Such as?"

Ty grinned, now excited, and began to ask away. Lindsey answered all of his questions, some directly with a yes or no while others were vaguer, but were enough to satisfy his curiosity while bringing up more questions. The two conversed for what felt like ages until Ty was, shockingly, out of questions.

"I can't believe you answered all of my questions."

"Yeah, but, chances are that if you do live, you probably won't remember most, if any, of my answers."

"What? _Why_?"

"There's..." She trailed off, trying to find the word. "Well, for lack of a better term, this _thing_ that you'll pass through before you are put into your body and that wipes a lot of memories that were made here, or at least tries to. Sometimes people are lucky and have most memories in tack while some don't remember anything at all."

Ty huffed. "That kind of sucks."

"Yeah, but if you were to keep the memories, you might start to see other things around."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean if you remember-" she paused, as if she'd been called. The look on her face turned from surprised to understanding as she nodded to herself. Then an audible beep was heard, causing Ty to look around.

"What was that?"

"Just a sign on what decision was made."

"So, what was decided?"

"You'll see." She said with a soft smile. "Every time a beep is heard, blink." She instructed. Ty was, understandably, confused, but did what was asked, blinking as beeps continued, small pauses in between.

As he continued to do this, the background behind Lindsey began to fade into darkness; the same darkness as before when he first came here, except now he was starting to feel warmer instead of cold.

"Uh," He started, his nerves getting to him with a quick wave of her hand.

"It's okay, just focus on me and the beeps. How many have there been so far?" She asked as she leaned forward to rest her head in her hands in front of him.

"I don't know, I think like ten or something."

"Good. Just keep doing what I said, okay." He did, even when she started to fade too, though she did so much slower than the room.

It started with the bottom of her, slowly disappearing. Then she was just a torso and then she was just a face, floating in front of him in the darkness.

Soon, she was almost completely gone.

The last part to disappear were her eyes, still staring. Ty blinked one last time as another beep was heard but when he opened his eyes, rather than be greeted by darkness as he expected, he was greeted by a new face.

"Abby?" He said, his voice much weaker than he thought. He coughed, his throat feeling terribly dry. "Uck, ow."

Abby awoke with a jolt, as she had been leaning into her hands in front of him. "Ty! You're awake!" She said, quickly rushing back to him to hug him tightly. Ty hugged her back, just as happy to see her. When she pulled away, he looked around. He was in the gaglab, specifically the area of the gaglab that LabRat usually examined them on. It had been changed to be like a makeshift room, the usually hard examining table made much for comfortable due to sheets and a pillow being added.

The hermit scientist had been in another part of the lab but was now standing on the other side of the table, smiling.

"I'm glad to see you made it through, buddy. How are you feeling?"

"Thirsty." Ty said, before coughing again. LabRat nodded and grabbed him a bottle of water. Ty gave an appreciative smile before gulping down about half the bottle, only stopping to breath. Once done, he looked back at the two before frowning, as he took in Abby's appearance.

"Abby, you look so tired."

"I am." She nodded, her hair a disheveled mess that was only held in its shape by her hair tie, dark marks under eyes and bruises from the earlier fight still on her face and arms. "But I couldn't really rest well until I knew you were going to wake up."

"How long have I been out?"

"About fifteen or so hours." Ty stared at LabRat in shock.

"I was out for so long!"

"Yup, and we've been stressed the whole time." LabRat said. "'Specially Abby." He patted her back in an attempt to comfort her, which she smiled to.

Ty felt bad that they'd been so worried but with the amount of time he'd been out, he'd be just as worried too had it been either of them.

He finished the water bottle and stretched, feeling kind of sore. Especially in his leg. He rubbed it and noticed that it had been bandaged up, remembering his wound from the fight.

"Oh man," he groaned. "That doesn't look very good."

"Nope, and it looked worse earlier. You're going to have to rest your leg for a good two weeks or so, Ty. Take it easy on it." Ty nodded, getting up from the bed and realizing what LabRat meant. Any pressure really made the wound hurt. Ty limped to stand beside Abby who helped him keep his balance once he was beside her.

"C'mon, let's go home so we can shower and rest." She said, pulling him along. The two bid LabRat goodbye, who said he himself was also going to rest now that Ty was awake. At home the two siblings went into the shed to change and quickly entered the house while the parents were sleeping.

"I lied to them and said that you had been testing out some flying mechanism and hurt your leg." Abby explained. "They were upset but I told them that I was handling you fine." Ty rolled his eyes but was glad his sister was able to explain the situation.

"I'm glad you didn't have to explain to them why I wasn't coming back."

"Don't say things like that Ty, I never doubted you were going to wake up."

"Really?" Ty couldn't believe that, she was so stressed. Abby stopped walking as they came to his bedroom. She turned to him and looked very vulnerable, a mix of her tiredness and worries showing.

"Well, I didn't let myself doubt it. I just kept telling myself that you were going to wake up and that there was no way you weren't." Her voice was trembling. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come through from this, Ty." Ty frowned and pulled Abby into a hug, the two just holding each other for a moment and appreciating that they still had each other around.

As they pulled away, Abby wiped a few tears from her face.

"You know what you should do now that you've survived a near death experience?" She asked.

"What?"

"You should tell Naomi you like her! C'mon, it's been almost a year!" Abby said before laughing, as she was half joking but also half serious. Ty laughed to before stopping.

' _"Whoever you're thinking about, you should tell them how you feel if you get the chance to."_ ' Like getting slapped in the face, Ty's expression changed to one of deep thought.

"What is it?" Abby asked, looking worried now.

"Huh?" Ty looked up at her. "Oh, nothing. I just...do you think there's anything after death, Abby?" He asked. She shrugged and rubbed her arm.

"I like to think there is sometimes but, like, I don't know. I focus too much on living to think about what happens after I die."

"Yeah, that's a good point."

"Why?" She pushed again.

"I don't know. I just was wondering since I did have a near death experience." She nodded and shrugged again.

"There's only one way to find out Ty and I don't want to find out just yet." He agreed and the two talked for a little before heading to bed, both feeling tired.

As Ty lied down, he stared up at the ceiling, clear memories coming back from what had happened while he was 'gone'. Not everything came back but what did was clear; the room he had too sit in, the lantern floating before him and the hand reaching for it, Lindsey looking into his eyes as she kept him calm. He remembered her eyes the most, their crystal clearness and mint green color. Something about her made him feel safe, like he was in good hands when she was trying to calm him down, even if her hands were so cold.

"Lindsey." He said aloud.

Then he began to think, what if it wasn't real? People see so many different things when they have near death experiences. What if it was just a last minute hallucination his brain came up with for comfort?

The thought made him sad, the idea that it had all been just his mind. He pulled the blanket up and shook his head, not wanting to dwell on it anymore and just wanting to sleep. He sighed as he finally got comfortable, curling up on his side.

"Lindsey," He repeated, much quieter than before and a little sadder. "I hope you were real." He whispered to himself as he closed his eyes.

"I am." A voice said, his eyes snapping open as he glanced over.

There, sat on the edge of his bed, was Lindsey staring blankly at him.

He screamed.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:** Yay. I've been meaning to write this for a while tbh. Just a story of how Ty meets an OC of mine who a grim reaper. Enjoy. After this story, I'll probably be writing more interactions between her and Ty but I'm still not sure. We'll see.


	3. Easter Egg Hunt

It was a hot spring day with Ringworm High a buzz as students spoke and travelled through the school, either going to class or just relaxing in between them. A certain raven-haired boy sat at a bench in one of the hallways as his eyes scanned over a book he'd gotten from the library; Ecosystems of Planet Earth the cover read. Something interesting for him to read while he waited for his older sister, Abby, to get out and to read as he enjoyed a crunchy apple.

He'd just tossed the core into a nearby trashcan when he spotted his sisters long, fiery red hair appear from around a corner. The boy had just raised his hand to wave when she ran passed him, dragging him along with her and practically tearing off his arm in the process.

" _Ow, **Abby**_!" Ty cried to his sister who stopped, allowing him to fall forward to the ground. He groaned, annoyed and in pain.

"Sorry, Ty, but c'mon! Let's go, let's go! We've got to hurry!" She pulled him to his feet quickly, dusting off his shoulders and hair.

"For what?"

"Oh, yeah, haha." She laughed softly. "Forgot to explain in my excitement. The school is hosting an Easter egg hunt right now! For the next few days and each egg found gets a point! The team with the most points gets free movie passes!" As she explained, Abby was visibly shaking with excitement, her eyes lit up.

Ty did not share her enthusiasm.

"Okay. I mean, it sounds kind of fun but, I don't know, Easter egg hunting? That's something we would do when we were kids." Abby rolled her eyes.

"Well, I signed you up for it anyway and it cost me three dollars, so I want your **full** effort!" Ty let out a heavy sigh but shrugged. Abby continued. "They send out clues through this app I downloaded, and we need to submit a picture of the egg when we find it."

"What's the first clue?" The girl pondered as she rubbed her lip, glancing over the app and its instructions. "'This room is for food and drink, but it's used for more than you'd think. Come here and find me.'" She read aloud.

"Did they have to be so cryptic about it?" Ty asked in a flat tone.

"I don't know but who cares. Now food and drink. That sounds like the cafeteria! Let's go!"

And so, the two left, dashing through the crowd of students until they came bursting through the double doors of the school cafeteria.

"Spread out! Leave nothing unturned!" Abby commanded before running off, looking under tables, and in every crevice. Ty rolled his eyes but began looking, scanning under chairs, behind the trash cans, at the counter where food is picked up. The two searched tirelessly, Abby at one point even lifting Ty on her shoulders so he could look inside the air vents for the eggs.

Of course, they found nothing.

Finally, the two tired, and Abby having lost her initial excitement, sat to rest.

" _Man!_ " Abby cried. "Where would they put them! We literally tore this place apart!"

"I know. Do you think someone already found it and left with it?"

"No, that would be against the rules. You're not supposed to take the egg form it's hiding place, just snap a photo of it and submit." The two let out a collective sigh and were quiet, considering if maybe they weren't looking well enough.

Ty was about to suggest another place that the hint could mean when someone came through the double doors. The siblings jumped and ducked under a table, worried that it was another team. Abby glanced up and saw a couple of the student volunteers for the organization holding the egg hunt. They weren't the main host, but they did help organize it. _"What're they doing here?"_ She thought to herself.

Her question was soon answered.

Brenda, a girl with curly brown hair and a yellow hat, did a quick scan of the room before gesturing to the other to help her up. The other, a boy named Travis, with a gray hoodie and brown hair, quickly lifted her until she was as high as the sealing. In one swift motion, she slapped an egg sticker with the organizations name onto the wall.

"Nice! Now we just gotta post the rest." Brenda said.

"Do you think we'll get in trouble because we're late with putting the eggs up? I mean, the challenge has been open for about an hour already." Travis asked.

Ty and Abby looked at each other with wide eyes and big smiles.

"Pfft, nah. I bet no one has even started looking yet. C'mon. The next one is going in the study hall, on a window somewhere." With that, the pair rushed out to continue posting eggs.

The other two waited a moment before Ty jumped up, his own excitement now present.

"Jack pot! We are going to win those movie passes!" He cried.

"Yeah we are!" Abby then leapt up with a grunt, snapping a picture of the egg just as she was level with it before landing gracefully.

"Let's go! They said the next one would be in the study hall!" And with that, the two rushed to get to the next spot.

Just as they ran out, the two crashed into a familiar ginger friend.

"Ow...Roger? Oof, sorry about that." Ty said as he and Abby quickly recovered and the other lied on the ground.

"Oooh, it's okay. Gah. What're you two in such a hurry for anyway?" He asked as he dusted himself off.

"Oh, we're just egg- _ow_!" Ty cried out as Abby elbowed his arm, giving him a narrow-eyed glare.

"Hehe, we're just, uh, _egg_ -cited to go see my friends pet chicken who just had eggs. Yeah, we're going to help paint them for Easter, you know?" She smoothly lied, giving him a smile.

Roger looked confused before giving an awkward smile.

"Oh, okay. Sounds, uh, fun. I thought you were going to say that you're participating in the egg hunt too."

"Too?" Ty asked.

"Yeah, me and Andy are on a team right now along with Pat. With the three of us, we're sure to win! You should join us, Ty." Roger offered. Ty just stared with his mouth open.

"Uuuh, I can't. I have other plans right now, um, sorry." Roger shrugged.

"It's fine. I'll enjoy the movie pass either way."

"Like hell you are!" The three turned to see Paige with her two friends. "If anyone is going to win that prize, it's gonna be **us**." Her two friends, Mindy and Helga, nodded in agreement.

"That's right." Helga, the darker haired one, said. "And we're going to do it in style."

"Oh please, the only thing you can find is the closest hair salon." Roger snapped.

"I guess we'll see, _**Pinkeye**_." Mindy sneered.

"Yeah we will!" The groups turned to see Naomi with her two friends, Peggy and Marty. "Those movie passes are ours!"

"Naomi, you _too?!_ " Ty asked, his anxiousness growing.

"Yeah Ty, you should join my team! We can go to the movies together!" Ty bit his lip, unable to feel tempted by Naomi's big eyes and welcoming smile. He was only stopped when Abby cleared her throat, causing him to look back at her stern stare.

"No, I can't Naomi. Sorry. I have plans." Naomi pouted but nodded.

"I understand. But I'll still try to bring you along when I win!"

"Fat chance!" Paige said. "My team is winning!"

"No, my team!" Roger snapped back.

"Na-ah! Our team!" Peggy, Naomi's curly haired friend, cried out.

"As if." All parties looked to see Kent with three others from the football team. "Sorry to inform you all but, uh, my team is going to destroy all of yours. You might as well throw in the towel now."

Abby sighed and rubbed her head. " _Ty_ , a lot more people than I thought are participating." She whispered to her brother who nodded.

"Still think we can win?"

"Of course!" She said.

"Then we'll be fine."

Just then, the intercom rung out, calling everyone's attention.

"Attention students," Principle Roberts called out. "I have the leader from the LOVE Organization leader holding the Easter Egg hunt, Tonia." The students waited until Tonia's voice began to speak.

"Hello Everyone. I would like to apologize for the late start on the hunt, but _some people_ forgot to set up the eggs on time. Either way, I'd like to announce that the first point has been claimed! Twelve more left till the win!"

" _ **What?!**_ " The group cried out in unison, all except for Ty and Abby who smiled at each other.

"Remember everyone," Tonia continued. "This will continue for the next three days. If all eggs are found before then, the contest will be closed, and winners announce. Good luck!" With that, the intercom went silent.

The groups glared daggers at each other before breaking off, everyone heading to where they thought the next egg would be.

Abby and Ty gave each other a quick glance before continuing to the study hall, not wanting to waste any more time and risk the win.

* * *

 **Author Notes:** Yay! This is just a fun story I'm going to be doing based on an event my own school is holding right now. Enjoy!


	4. Hugs and Kisses - Valentine's Day

Hugs and Kisses

 **((Firstly, Happy Valentine's Day everyone! If you have a date or special someone, I hope you have a wonderful day with them and if you just have you today, like me, I hope you can treat yourself with some candy and have a hug and kiss from me! 3 Second, warning ahead of time, this specific drabble I made just to publish today on Valentine's Day and is something I've been itching to do. It's centered around Ty and while some may consider it out of character, I just did it in the theme of romance and for fun. My boy Ty is gonna smooch up 8 people! So, I hope you enjoy and if you don't, feel free to tell me why. I won't get hurt since I know what I'm about to write might just not be for everyone. Anyways, sorry for the long spiel and enjoy!))**

Fluffy white clouds dotted the sky, allowing for wonderful shade and a cool breeze to help keep this sunny day enjoyable. It was almost perfect, beautiful weather and scenery to fit on such a lovely holiday; Valentine's Day.

And everyone was buzzing about it. Couples sat on park benches or their picnic spots opening presents and sharing their affections, children in the younger schools were handing out their cards and candies to each other and playing games, and even at Pneumonia High, the students were either giving or being gifted gifts eagerly.

It was almost like Cupid had gone into over drive and shot everyone in sight with some kind of arrow. Even Abigail Archer, who in the past was somewhat against the idea of Valentine's day, was dreamily leaning against her locker, holding a pink and white card to her chest. It was from her now boyfriend Rudy. They'd started dating just a few days ago and he was really pouring on the romance today and Abby was just enjoying it all.

As she was leaning, she caught sight of her brother walking over to his locker, looking cheery with a smile. She was glad to see that as, about two months ago, he and Naomi had split up. More so, she broke it off and after a month, they were able to become friends again, but she was worried he'd be down about not having a Valentine's day date.

"You seem happy. Has the Valentine's fever got you as well?"

"Hm?" Ty quirked as he pulled his books out of his locker. "Oh, yeah. Definitely. Something about having all this love in the air just has me so happy."

"It's too bad you don't have someone to be all romantic with." Abby lamented. "If you want, when Rudy and I are done with our date, you and I can go and have lunch together."

Ty smiled. "That's sweet of you Abby but who says I don't have someone today?"

"Oh?" Abby was shocked. Did Ty have someone already? She hadn't heard or even seen anyone around Ty romantically. "Really? Do you have a date?"

"No, not really but I'm not looking to get a date."

"So, what are you looking to get?"

"A kiss." Abby nodded as she looked around.

"Okay, that's cute and nice. From who?"

At this, Ty didn't answer. He just smirked at his sister, causing her to narrow her eyes.

"What?"

"No one in particular." With that, he walked off giggling, leaving his sister to ponder and guess.

Truth be told, he didn't have any one person in mind. He was looking to get a kiss from or to give a kiss to a few people and he was hoping that before the day ended, he could get everyone down on his mental list.

To start was Naomi.

The raven-haired boy scanned the halls curiously, rushing around until he spotted her golden orange hair.

"Naomi!" he called, the girl looking up from the book she was reading.

"Ty! Hey, what's up? Happy Valentine's Day." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you too! That's exactly why I'm here, actually." Ty explained, causing Naomi to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Yes! I know we split up a while ago but, you know, I do still really care about you and on this day, I'd just love a kiss from you. Please." He flashed a big smile. "It doesn't mean we're getting back together or anything but, you know me, I'm a sucker for romance and you're the first person that came to my mind when I woke up today."

Naomi stared at Ty before she gave a soft giggle.

"Awe, Ty, you're so cute when you get nervous. I can see it in you. Hmm," She was right, as she thought it over. There's always a chance for something to fail, as Ty was well aware of, and he knew there was a huge chance of rejection. But, instead of that, he hopes came true and Naomi happily leaned forward, closing her eyes.

Ty was ecstatic and leaned forward, closing the space between them and locking their lips in a kiss. It was a quick kiss, but as the two pulled away, both were blushing, Ty more so than Naomi.

"Glad you liked it." Naomi said with a giggle before going back to reading, using the book to cover her blushing face.

"I did! Yeah!" Ty jumped from his seat and sped off. He was so giddy over the success of the first one that he was having a hard time who to go after next. The young grossologist was still thinking it over when he bumped into Paige, causing her to drop her box of cards.

"Uugh! Archer! Watch where you're going!" The blonde snapped. Ty recovered quickly and picked up the box and cards before she had a chance to even grab one.

"Heh, I'm sorry Paige. I guess I was a bit distracted." He handed her the box and she huffed at first before narrowing her eyes.

"What's got you so distracted?" Before he could even answer, she continued. "Oh, was it me? I'm sure it was, as I've gotten myself especially dolled up for today. That's how I got all these cards!" She shoved the box towards him as if he hadn't just had to collect them all.

Normally, he'd just move on from the subject but with todays theme and task, his quick thinking got him an idea.

"Well, actually, yes. I couldn't help but notice you looked even prettier today than normal and I was just so distracted by it that I forgot to stop walking." Paige was taken aback by this, not expecting her self-praise to be returned.

"Uh, really?"

"Oh yeah. You look beautiful today and Happy Valentine's Day. I'm sorry I couldn't give you a card, but I didn't very well have time. I could make up for it though with a kiss?" Ty raised an eyebrow suggestively as he grinned.

Paige was a bit lost for words as this was not only out of left field but also very flattering, mainly due to Ty having never shown interest before at all.

"It's okay. I mean, I suppose that would be an alright substitute." She giggled as she spoke. Most of the guys who'd approached her in the past were near fainting at just handing her a card; no one had been this forward and it was somewhat refreshing.

She handed the box to him, somewhat surprising Ty before she cupped his face and kissed him.

To Ty, it was extremely pleasant as her hands felt soft from much care and treatment and she smelled heavily of fruits and expensive perfumes. When she pulled away, she took the box with her, leaving Ty to smile dreamily as she left, waving goodbye to him with her manicured hand.

Once she was gone, he jumped again, happily, still tasting her cherry gloss on his lips. She hadn't been on his list, but he was more than glad to add her. Speeding down the hall, he had just turned a corner when he spotted one of Naomi's friends, Betty. She was the shorter of Naomi's three friend group, looking much younger than them and acting so as well with her buck teeth and messy hair tied in a ponytail.

"Hi Betty!" He called, the girl looking up from a card she'd found in her locker.

"Huh? Hi Ty!" She quickly walked over and beamed at him, just as happy as anyone else today. "What's up?"

"Happy Valentine's Day!" He beamed back at her and she perked up, glancing from him to the card and back and forth.

These cards were anonymous, the person who sent them only leaving a personalized note and any other hint they would choose to leave behind. Hers didn't have much of a hint on it other than 'look for me' so she couldn't help but think Ty had sent it since he was approaching her now.

Without much more hesitation or words, she hopped up and quickly planted a kiss on Ty's lips, startling the both of them. But as soon as it was done, she giggled and turned red before running off, covering her face bashfully.

Ty was indeed surprised that that didn't require much effort all but pleased, he left, moving on to his next choice.

If Betty was here, then he didn't think the next person in mind would be far; the other of Naomi's friend group, Robin. Her soon spotted her in her white turtleneck and cute fluffy black hair tied in pig tails. She was in a classroom just beyond the door entrance.

As he approached her, she turned quickly and almost bumped into him.

"Oh, sorry about that Ty. I was just heading out."

"It's no biggie! I was just looking for you, actually, so I'm really glad I ran into you."

"Oh okay. If you want to know where Naomi is, last I saw her she was in the library." Robin was already starting to walk away, dismissing Ty.

"No, no! I was looking for you not to ask for Naomi but to, you know, chat." This stopped her.

"What? Really?"

"Yeah! Happy Valentine's Day Robin!" Robin stared blankly before she gave a thoughtful look, her dark eyes scanning Ty and giving him time to look her over. She wasn't a shy person by any means like Naomi, but she sure was as cute as her with freckles that complimented her dark complexion and big eyes. She was naturally pretty without the need for makeup and Ty really enjoyed that.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you too, Ty." She finally said. "Have you been having a good day so far? Everyone seems to be all gushy and happy. I even got these chocolates, but it sucks because I'm allergic to dairy."

"Awe, that's such a shame and I have but it's just gotten so much better that I've found you." Ty said. "I think you're really cute Robin and, well, I'd love a kiss to celebrate today. You know?"

Robin was surprised but she had received a few cards already so maybe one was from Ty? Was this a confession of feelings or was it just a today thing? She decided not to over think it and just act.

Leaning forward, she gave Ty a gentle kiss on his lips. She felt so soft, especially her lips and the hand she placed on his shoulder. It was nice while it lasted until she pulled away and walked off with a wave. "I think you're cute too, Ty."

Ty waved after her with a soft sigh before he noticed that she'd left the small box of chocolates in his hand. Then his stomach growled. How long had it been? Was it lunch time already? Food hadn't even crossed his mind with how much fun he was having but he decided it was best for a break. Making his way to the cafeteria, he sat happily with his bagged lunch and started eating. Just about halfway through his sandwich, he was joined by Roger who looked sad, for once.

Normally, he would be bitter on a day like this but with all the happiness in the air, his usual anger was only replaced with longing. Ty frowned sympathetically at his friend.

"Not having a good day?"

"No. No one's so much as even spared me a glance, Ty." Roger said before sulking. "Is my eye really that bad? Or is it something more? Is it me?"

Ty placed a hand on his friends' shoulder. "Hey, buddy, hey. Don't think that way. I'm sure someone has an interest in you. Maybe they're just too shy? I mean, you're a bit intense sometimes but I wouldn't say you're like a person repellent."

"Thanks Ty. That helps a little." Ty thought for a bit before he perked up and pulled out the gift Robin had given him.

"Here you go! Happy Valentine's Day!" Roger perked up as he took the gift.

"Uh, thank you Ty. I was actually craving something sweet and I just-" Roger stopped when he realized Ty was leaning a little too close. "Ty?" He asked as Ty had stopped just about an inch or two away from him. He gave a nervous stare. Was he about to get pranked or something?

Nope.

Ty quickly grabbed his friends face and kissed him three times; first on his forehead then on his nose and then on his lips. They were quick kisses, not lasting more than a second or two but still having their effect as Ty quickly shoved rest of his sandwich in his mouth and left.

"Laters Roger!" He called back, Roger frozen in place, his face as red as a tomato. He clutched the gift as if it would run if he let it go before, he finally let himself breath again.

"Wha...what was that?!" He yelled out of confusion, startling some people around him. He was not going to let that go. He was going to talk to Ty about that later! But for now, with his cheeks still dusted with blush, he began to eat the chocolates he was given.

Ty was giggling as he left, trying to smother them but to no avail. The look on Rogers face was funny but he also couldn't help but enjoy what he'd done. He at least hoped that it helped Roger and didn't just upset him or anything. He'd talk to him about it later in case Roger was upset.

For now, though, he moved on, looking for someone. He then bumped into Cindy, the chubby red head with pink glasses. Based on the badge she had on, he could see she'd been chosen as the hall monitor for today.

"Hello Ty." She greeted as she adjusted her glasses and gave a sweet smile.

"Uh, hey there. You're the hall monitor?" She nodded.

"Yeah, I was late to class today, so the teacher had me be the hall monitor."

"I see. Well, sorry for almost knocking you over. But Happy Valentine's Day! And let me make it up to you!"

Before the girl could say much else, he did something similar to what he'd done to Roger and pulled her into almost a hug as he peppered her face with soft and quick kisses. He let her go and walked off, leaving the girl flustered and giggling.

"Uh, I, uh! Thank you, Ty! Happy Valentine's Day to you too!" She waved after him.

As Ty continued down, he started to consider when he was going to stop. He was already very pleased with how today had turned out, but does that mean he should draw it to an end already? It was barely past lunch.

He didn't have much time to think before something else caught his attention; familiar voices coming from the robotics lab. It was Andy and Jasmine, happily talking inside.

"Hey guys!" Ty greeted as he came in. Jasmine then let out a happy cry as she ran over to Ty, startling both boys.

"Ty guess what?! Andy just asked me out on a date!" She exclaimed as she jumped up and down. "Isn't that great!"

Ty couldn't contain his smile as he looked from Jasmine to his friend Andy.

"Of course, it's great! It's wonderful and I'm so happy for you two! Happy Valentine's Day!" He pulled the happy couple into a hug, squeezing tightly. He was genuinely happy and excited for them.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you too, Ty." Andy said, adjusting his glasses. "Have you had a good day today? Any cute girls give you a card or anything?"

"Nope, not a card or any dates or anything like that." Ty said shaking his head, the new couple looking sympathetic now.

"Awe, I'm sorry about that Ty. Maybe that'll change as the day goes on?" Jasmine suggested.

"No need. I've still had a good day because I've gotten several kisses today." Ty explained, waving his hand.

"Oh?" The two said in unison, prompting Ty to nod eagerly.

"Yup. Speaking of which," Without much else for a warning, Ty quickly kissed Andy and Jasmine each on the cheek, in that order. "Bye guys! And again, congrats!" He said as he left.

The couple watched Ty go with blank expressions before Jasmine started giggling, looking to Andy with a big grin. Andy was beat red, but he smiled back anyways. Jasmine then leaned over and kissed his other cheek, making Andy turn even more red.

Ty decided to leave the school at that time, instead making his way to his locker and entering the gag lab, suited up.

LabRat, who had been examining a sample of something gross, looked up with raised eyebrows.

"Hey, Ty. What're you doing here?" The hermit scientist asked, his pet rat Hermes squeaking as if to echo the question.

"Oh, nothing. I just felt like leaving school early and coming here. Also, Happy Valentine's Day!" He flashed a toothy grin to LabRat who curiously quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh. Well, Happy Valentine's Day to you too. Did you get a lot of cards and confessions of love today?"

"No, just kisses." At this, LabRat's grin grew and he chuckled.

"Well, sounds like you've had a fun day then."

"Mmhm. Have you ever had a Valentine's Day kiss?"

"Considering that I spend about 90-95% of my time in this lab, I can say with certainty that no, I've never gotten a kiss for Valentine's Day." LabRat explained flatly as he was already back to examining the sample. He was too distracted to notice Ty creeping closer until he heard how close Ty was when asked his next question.

"Do you want to have a kiss for Valentine's Day?" The scientist turned sharply, having to lean back a bit away from his friend who was grinning at him.

"What?" He asked, unsure he'd heard that right. "Do I," he gestured to himself, "want a kiss for Valentine's day?" Ty nodded. "From you?" Another nod from Ty.

There was a silence as LabRat rolled the question over. He then narrowed his eyes at Ty and crossed his arms. He felt like he was about to be the butt of a joke or something. "Sure." He said, smirking as he waited for the joke to come.

Instead of a joke, though, Ty just moved forward and kissed his friend on the lips, with a loud 'muah!' sound accompanying the gesture. LabRat was, to say the least, stunned. He was even too stunned to question Ty as the raven-haired grossologist walked out, waving goodbye.

He was only snapped back to reality when Hermes squeaked up at him, calling to him. "Huh? What?" He rubbed his mouth with his hand, as if unsure what just happened. "Was that a joke Hermes?" The white rat squeaked again and shrugged his tiny shoulders. He didn't understand jokes that well.

LabRat made the mental note to ask Ty or at least Abby about what just happened later.

Meanwhile, Ty had left the gag lab and changed back into his normal clothes, now walking home. It was a bit of a long walk if he made his way through the city so instead, he decided to go a shorter route that cut through the wooded areas.

It gave him a great opportunity to soak up the beautiful day mixed with the sounds and sights of nature; little animals scampering around and birds singing their songs as they flew above or around him.

He was so happy with how the day turned out and with this scene on top of it that he even found himself whistling to the tune of Mr. Sandman. With his spirits so high, he made it home in no time, noting that his parent's cars were missing. They were both at work and possibly going to a date after so this wasn't a surprise to him.

It took about a couple more hours or so for Abby to arrive home, holding a bear in one hand and a bouquet of flowers. She sat at the table with Ty and happily chatted about how lovely her date was and how romantic Rudy was throughout it. Ty just smiled, very happy for his sisters new romance.

"So, did you have a good day? Did you get a kiss from whoever you were after?"

"Hm, yeah." Ty said with a wide grin.

"Who was it?"

"A lot of people. 8 to be exact." Abby just stared at her brother, wide eyed.

"Well, definitely sounds like you were busy. Happy Valentine's Day." The red head then reached over and pulled her brother into a tight squeeze. He would have hugged back but her strong grip squeezed the air right out of him.

The two siblings then spent the rest of the day and night sharing some Valentine candies Abby had and watching TV.


	5. Aftermath of an NDE

Petunia and Harvey Archer burst into Ty's room with matching expressions of shock and panic.

"What's wrong?! What happened?!" Harvey asked, holding a shovel in hand while Petunia had a pair of large gardening shears. Abby stood behind them, unarmed but just as panicked and ready to fight something. Ty was still breathing heavily until he looked back to where the figure had been. The space was empty and undisturbed as if no one had been there.

"I...I saw someone. They had been on my bed and I just..." He trailed off. His parents exchanged a glance before searching through the room, looking in every place that could be searched. Abby sat beside Ty, helping him to relax, although he wasn't scared anymore. Now he was worried. He knew he'd seen her, he just knew it.

"Well, there's no one here now." Harvey said, coming to sit beside his son. "Are you sure you saw someone? Maybe you were just having a waking nightmare or something like that."

"Yeah." Petunia chimed in, hugging Ty. "It might be from whatever medication you've taken for your leg. Abby told us how you'd heard it when you were testing some project out with your friend." Ty nodded, trying to consider this but, at the same time, he hadn't taken much medication outside of the common pain killer. He talked with his parents for a little before they left. Abby remained, still looking concerned.

"You sure you're okay?" She asked gently, standing in the doorway of his room.

He hesitated but nodded softly, smiling apologetically.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I guess I just had a really bad nightmare."

"Don't worry about it. Just call me if you see anything else." With that, she closed his door and left the room in its silent darkness, the only light being the moonlight from Ty's window. Ty sighed, feeling kind of embarrassed. Maybe he should forget about what he saw if it's going to cause him to see things like this.

He turned and had just pulled the covers when he saw her again, now standing just beside him and startling him again. Just before he could even begin to say something, her cold hand gripped his face tightly, covering his mouth and muffling anything he had to say.

" _Shhh, shhh, don't scream again._ " She whispered. He gripped her arm and tried to pull her off of himself but it was like holding onto a statue. When he finally stopped pulling, she let go of him. "Thank you. I'm sorry but I didn't think I would scare you. Although, in hindsight, a tall dark figure in your bedroom in the middle of the night is pretty scary." She admitted.

"Yes, it is!" Ty said, louder than he meant to. Once again, he was shushed, Lindsey putting her finger against her lips to emphasize that he needed to keep it down.

"Right." He whispered. "You scared me but...what are you doing here?" The reaper paused, looking out the window for a minute before turning back to him.

"I came to see if you'd remember anything about what happened. You proved to me that you did when you said my name so then I wanted to know if you could see me and you, again, proved that yes, you could...and then you screamed."

"Oh," Ty said, somewhat relaxing. "Sorry but I honestly wasn't sure you'd been real and then for you to suddenly appear, I..."

"It's alright. I understand." There was a pause between the two, Ty still processing that she had been real and was now in his home, in the world of the living, and Lindsey just staring at him, waiting. Finally, she sighed, looking sad.

"Ty, the fact you can remember what happened **_and_** can see me isn't a good thing."

"What? Why not?"

"Remember when I told you that if you were to remember something from what happened, you might start to see things? That's why, or at least part of it. You might start to see things that aren't normal and it could get really scary or dangerous."

"But what do you mean? What kind of things might I start seeing?" Lindsey shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable.

"I can't be one hundred percent sure about that. A little over a handful of people who have had near death experiences have remembered that moment on the other side with such clarity. Usually, when people come that close to death and then come back, they only remember the vaguest of things; feelings, lights and colors, maybe a word or two. Nothing too specific but enough to give them a general idea of where they'd gone." At this point, she took a deep breath and sighed. The sigh was both tired and sad.

"But those handfuls of people that remembered great detail or the whole experience, they each saw different things. Few good things but most of them saw things that scared them; really, _really **scared**_ them. Terrible things that pushed most of them to a breaking point where they would beg to be taken again. They couldn't bear to remain here if they kept seeing whatever it was that they had been seeing."

"Were you able to see what they were seeing?" Ty asked and Lindsey shook her head.

"This hasn't happened to me before. As I told you back on the other side, I am not the only reaper. I've only heard of this happening to other reapers but with everyone that I've helped previously, they would forget and then be fine and move on with their normal lives. But _you_ , for some reason, did not."

Ty was quiet, noting the bitter tone that accompanied the last sentence, as well as the woman's narrowed eyes.

"But," He paused, collecting his thoughts. "Why? Why didn't I forget?"

"I don't know, Ty. **Why** , indeed! Are you psychic or something?" The reaper asked, moving closer in a swift movement and causing Ty to back up until his back was against his pillow. "Did you have a magic talisman on you or a sigil written somewhere?"

"He-Hey, personal space please, Death."

" _Lindsey_." She practically hissed. "Don't call me Death when you know what my name is."

"Right, right. Sorry. Lindsey, please give me my personal space." The reaper remained still for a moment before moving back into her original sitting position, allowing Ty to sit back up.

"I'm sorry. I've just never been in a situation before in my job where I don't know what to do." She explained quietly before looking at him, a dreary and tired expression on. "And right now, I don't know what to do."

There was a brief silence between the two before Ty asked quietly "So,...what are you going to do?" At first, she didn't respond, more than likely thinking over her answer in her head. Then she shrugged and changed her sitting position to a more comfortable one where her back was against the wall.

"Just watch you and wait. See if you start to see things like the others. If you don't, then that's great, and we'll split ways to continue normal lives. But if you do, then..." She paused again before clearing her throat. "I guess we'll just cross that bridge when we get there."

Ty was going to ask another question but she raised a hand to stop him.

"You should sleep now. It's very late and you're still recovering from your wounds. Besides, any other question you have can wait for tomorrow or can't be answered right now, I assure you."

"But-" She turned to him now and said flatly

"Sleep." And he did. He doesn't remember actually leaning back and curling up to go to sleep; just that suddenly there was darkness and then he was waking up to the sound of his alarm going off. He groaned softly and reached for the digital clock. When he finally gripped it, he pressed the button to turn it off.

The sound continued anyway.

"C'mon." He whined, pressing the button more harshly.

"That noise isn't your clock." He snapped awake and looked up. Lindsey stood now beside him, pointing down to his backpack. He blinked a couple of times, remembering what had happened last night, and trying to process what she meant before he realized the ringing wasn't his alarm clock. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out the source of the noise and opened it up.

"LabRat?" He answered his Grossometer. "What's up?"

"Ty, there's a problem with Lance Boil. He's in the middle of the city blasting people with infected puss and getting them sick. We need you over here, injury and all. Abby's already there."

"I'm on my way! Why are you barely calling me now?"

"I have been trying to contact you for a while now, Ty." LabRat said, somewhat annoyed. "Are you barely getting up? It's practically noon." And with that, the transmission ended with the screen going black. Ty looked up from the Grossemeter to Lindsey who shrugged, a somewhat apologetic smile on her face.

"Sorry about that. I put you in a 'sleep like death', as they say." Ty would have argued but didn't have time. He stood and was about to run to the shed when he paused, gripping his leg. It had just been a deep cut, nothing major, but he was still sore.

Gritting his teeth, he decided that for now, he would need to push through the pain, and ran to the shed to get dressed and fly off.

He flew through the sky with his jetpack, using his Grossemeter to guide his way to the center of the city. As he flew, he looked back to see Lindsey flying just above him. No wings accompanied her and she was soundness in her flight.

"You're going to follow me on my missions, too?" He asked, to which she nodded.

"I'm going to keep a 24/7 surveillance on you, Tyler Archer. For a good two to three weeks, just to confirm if you see anything. After that, if everything checks out as normal, we'll be done."

Tyler nodded and they continued to the center of the town. There, Lance Boil was currently in a helicopter, most likely stolen from the city. A lackey of his was piloting while he aimed his invention down at the city and was firing.

"Where's Abby?" Ty wondered aloud, looking down at the ground for her. His Grossometer buzzed and he pulled it out to see LabRat.

"Abby's stuck on the ground at the moment. Lance struck down the GRS-1 so she's been firing from below." Abby then appeared on one of the second screens.

"Ty, I need you to go into the helicopter and disable Lance's machine. I keep trying to take down the helicopter but it's hard with him trying to hit me and the citizens. A lot of people have already been hit and you're the only one with the ability to get up there right now."

"Gotcha," Ty said and closed the transmission, before heading into the helicopter. "Boil!" He called once inside. Almost immediately, he had to duck away to avoid being hit by a zap from Lance's invention.

"Nerdling!" Lance called. "So good of you to finally show up! Now I'll get to take you down first!" Another fire but Ty was quick on his feet, jumping away and firing a blast of his own. Of course, Boil was able to dodge it with his own previous experience as a Grossologist.

Ty then grunted, another shot of pain from his leg hitting him. He took a deep breath and quickly focused on what was happening.

"That's what you think, Boil! But this'll end how it always does; with you losing!" With that, he fired again, causing Boil to dodge to the side. When he did, Ty took a running start at him. This caught Boil by surprise, allowing Ty to grab him and his invention.

They struggled on the floor, Boil trying to get Ty off and to release the laser. Ty didn't relent, holding fast to it.

"Release me! You little-!" A swift kick to the face and Ty fell back. He groaned but smiled when he realized he still had the weapon with him.

"Hah!" He taunted, getting to his feet.

Lance stared wide-eyed before holding up a piece of the weapon in his hand. It then dawned upon Ty that, in their spat, when he was pushed off, his and Lance's grips on the thing were so tight that they pulled it apart.

"Well, at least it's unusable."

"You simple minded fool!" Lance called. "You completely separated my puss ray! The machinery when split can start-!" Before boil could finish, the piece in Ty's hand started to shake and cough up sparks, bringing a laugh from Boil. "Looks like you're the one with the unlucky piece."

Just as he finished his mocking warning, the thing blew up, pushing Ty back and out of the helicopter. He would have fallen completely out, had he not grabbed onto the landing skids. But now he was dangling hundreds of feet in the air from the helicopter.

"Careful." A voice called and he looked up to see Lindsey, sitting casually on top of the helicopter, just beneath the rotor blade. "Have you seen anything yet?"

"Huh?" Ty called before almost losing his grip. "No! I haven't! **_Agh,_** " He almost slipped off again, his right arm trembling. His right hand that had been clutching the puss ray now burned and ached along with the right side of his face and his right arm. It was becoming difficult to hold on. "A little help, please!"

Lindsey gave a contemplative stare, looking unsure whether she should interfere or not. "I'm not supposed to interfere in life's natural order, Ty." She called. "I just go with it."

Just then, Lance boil stepped to the edge of the helicopter's opening, shaking his head in a mockingly sad manner. "Oh, no, no, no. Looks like we're in a bit of a predicament, aren't we." Lance then stepped on Ty's sensitive right hand, causing him to pull away and only hold on with his left hand. "I can see that my weapons final blow left a mark or two on your right side, huh? How fitting. You can't hold on for much longer, can you?"

As he spoke, Ty's fingers were slowly starting to slip. Ty quickly began to try and activate his jet back, but it wasn't working. Glancing back, he saw that a lot of his arm, shoulder, and jet back were covered in puss from the machine. It must have damaged it in the blast as well.

" _Shit_ ," Ty said through gritted teeth, his fear building as his fingers continued to slip, Lance Boil's laughter ringing in the background. " _Lindsey_ , I could really use the help!" Lindsey shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Ty. It's out of my hands. I can't interfere unless something supernatural is involved."

Lance looked to where Ty was staring and gave a confused glare.

"Did my machine also loosen a few gears in your head, Ty? Starting to see things that aren't really there?" He started laughing again. Ty glared, both in frustration at the situation and in annoyance. He reached to try to grip with his right hand again but froze when he saw something.

Behind Lance Boil was another figure, tall and human-like but all dark. Almost like a shadow but more physically present, or so it seemed to Ty. Some features would appear on the face, a mouth, white eyes, but they would quickly fade away and be replaced again. Ty was staring at it for so long in shock that his grip began to loosen, and he freaked out, trying to hold on as tightly as he could.

Lance rolled his eyes, noticing Ty staring again at something that wasn't there. "What's the matter? Seeing the grim reaper? Not surprising since you're about to meet him!" Ty cried out as Lance stepped on his left hand to try and make him lose his grip.

As Lance put more pressure, whatever was behind him began to move past him, leaning forward and reaching for Ty's hand. The Grossologist watched in horror as it gripped his wrist tightly.

Once the thing touched his hand, he lost feeling and let go involuntarily, screaming as he began his plummet to the ground miles below.

"Goodbye, Nerdling! Have a nice _fall_!" Lance called after, laughing at his own joke and turning to his lackey. "Get us out of here! My ray is broken and we need to get back to my base!"

"Got it, boss!" And with that, they took off.

Abby, during this, had started to help the citizens with the Detective. As the helicopter got too high, her goop shooter wasn't able to even get close to hitting it. All she could do was watch and help the civilians.

When she saw the two struggling and the mini blast, she became worried. When she saw Ty dangling, she panicked. And when he finally fell, she lost it.

She doesn't think she's ever run as fast as she did then, diving for the GRS-1 and turning it on. It may be stuck on the ground but that doesn't mean it couldn't drive. She kicked it into gear and drove as fast as she could towards where Ty was falling to...catch him? In the cockpit maybe? She wasn't sure, she just needed to be there to do something! She couldn't lose her brother again!

Ty, meanwhile, was screaming the whole way down, covering his face as he stared at the ground getting closer and closer. "I can't believe I'm going to die again!" He cried as he spiraled down faster and faster. But before his thoughts could get any darker, he felt a tight grip under his arms. He looked up to see Lindsey was holding him from behind.

"Lindsey?!" He called.

"Look! Your sister is over there! Get ready to land in that thing she's driving!"

"What?" and with that, she started to guide his fall, aiming for the GRS-1 instead of the ground.

"It's going to be a really hard impact! I really hope that it isn't as cold and as hard as the ground!"

Abby, seeing Ty now coming in her direction, came to a rough stop and popped open the hatch of the GRS-1. She didn't know how he had started to fall in this direction but she didn't have time to question it, just to brace for the impact.

"Ty!" She called and he screamed just as he crashed into her, the two slamming into the inner side of the GRS-1. The force of the fall was so great that it pushed the thing and almost caused it to fall onto its side. Luckily for the two, it stopped just beforehand and fell back onto the wheels, rocking a little until finally becoming still.

The two siblings groaned from pain as they began to collect themselves.

"Ty?" Abby called again, getting up to stand over him. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Ty just groaned in response, rubbing his head.

"I broke Lance's weapon but by splitting it in two and it exploded. I was pushed out of the helicopter and then I fell." The redhead reached up and gently touched the right side of her brother's face, bringing a hiss of pain from him. "Ow!"

"Sorry, sorry. It's just that part of your face is all red. And...your arm and hand too." Ty examined his arm and shoulder, parts of his suit there showing damage in tears and rips and his skin that showed through was red and beginning to blister.

"We should get you to the gaglab. If Lance's gross puss got in your wounds, then you're probably going to get sick real fast. Let's go!" Abby started the GRS-1 and began to drive the two back to the gaglab.

Ty was gently prodding at his face and arm when Lindsey's voice made him flinch as she whispered to him from behind.

"You saw something, didn't you? You must have. I saw it too; when it gripped your hand and made you fall." Ty didn't answer but nodded slowly. She remained quiet for the rest of the drive, allowing a calm silence to settle within the GRS-1.

Back at the gaglab, Ty was lying down on the examining table while LabRat was running some tests. He had removed the upper part of his suit so that the wounds could better be examined but now he could see how bad his wounds really were.

His skin was red, irritated and blistering as if it had been burned. He didn't know if it was direct results from the puss or if it was the heat from the initial blast but it felt terrible. What would he tell his parents now?

"Great. First my leg and now this."

"I know," LabRat said from where he and Abby were. "You're in a very unlucky streak right now. Maybe look for some four-leaf clovers or something?" He snickered at his own joke but the other two were not amused. "Just trying to lighten the mood. Tough crowd."

Everyone was quiet after, LabRat looking at the results that his computer pulled up and Abby looking nervously over his shoulder. Ty couldn't see the results yet so he looked around to see if Lindsey was here.

When they initially landed back at the gaglab, Lindsey had left without explanation, walking away before completely vanishing. Ty thought maybe she was leaving for good but that didn't make sense if he'd just _seen_ the things she'd warned him about. So, where did she go to?

It was something he wondered as he began to poke and prod at one of the bigger blisters on his arm. It was very sensitive and red. He tried to be gentle in his poking but after a couple of times, it popped, stinging him and leaking blood and something else.

"Ow," Ty whined quietly.

" _Well, stop poking it_." Ty jumped and turned, seeing Lindsey standing behind him. "Stop it. It's _gross_."

"Why don't **you** stop sneaking up on me!" Ty snapped, forgetting that he wasn't alone.

"What?" Abby asked, the other two looking at him now.

"Uh, nothing. Sorry. I was just remembering something and thinking aloud." Both exchanged a look, seeming unconvinced but turned back to the computer anyway.

"Well, I've been examining the puss and it, on its own, is harmless so it shouldn't cause you to get sick. More than likely, whatever the front part of the machine was, which blew up in your hand, is what causes the sickness, with the puss passing through it, changing chemically, and then being shot out at people." The hermit rubbed his eyes gently. "If I could have the piece with me, I would be able to know for sure, **_but_** it exploded." A collective exasperated sigh was released from the trio before LabRat continued.

"It doesn't matter. We stopped Boil this time and no one was too hurt. Now we just have to work on patching you up." He gestured to Ty who had started to poke at his arm again.

"Hmm, okay. I'm going to go to the restroom to apply the medication and wrap up my arm."

"You don't want any help with that?" Abby asked as he began to approach the restroom, but he shook his head.

"Nah, I'm good. I'll be able to wrap it up myself." With that, he shut the door behind himself, now alone in the white and sterilized bathroom. He opened the cabinet beside the sink and pulled out the medication and gauze.

As he applied the clear and cold cream onto his arm, he hissed again in pain, the medication stinging his open wounds but numbing them as well within the minute. Now with the easy part done, he grabbed the gauze to begin wrapping it, starting slowly from the lower part where there was the least damage and going up his arm from there.

Once done with his arm, he smiled into the mirror at his work.

"Nice. Knew I could do it myself. Now, how am I going to do the shoulder? Hmm..." he trailed off, contemplating when Lindsey stepped beside him.

"You can't unless you're a contortionist or maybe double jointed?" Ty groaned and rolled his eyes, beginning to try anyway. He went through three attempts before letting out a frustrated sound. "I don't know why you thought you could wrap _your shoulder_ by yourself." Lindsey said as she grabbed the gauze and continued where he would fail, finishing up the wrap and pinning it closed.

"So you can help me wrap up a wound but can't save me from falling from a helicopter?" Ty asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not that simple Ty. I can help with these small things because they don't have big effects on the events that are taking place but I can't just intervene when _life_ happens. I'm not supposed to, anyway."

"But you could if you chose to?"

"Yes but if I did that while on the job, I'd be in a lot of trouble." Silence fell between the two as Ty examined his wrapped up wounds in the mirror.

"Ugh, what am I going to tell my parents now?"

"I don't know but whatever you tell then, mention that you might get sick soon."

"Why?"

"Because you are going to get sick soon."

"What? LabRat said I shouldn't." Ty argued.

"But he's not sure. For the most part, he's right. That part that blew up in your hand _did_ make the puss able to affect normal people but by enhancing something already in the puss. On its own, it could only have effects if it got in an open wound, say, a _popped_ ** _blister_**." She said the last part by narrowing her eyes at Ty.

He frowned and was about to say something but she raised a hand.

"You already had other blisters that had popped and that are the cause for you to get sick but for future reference, don't mess with and then open already fresh wounds." She turned and left, disappearing as she reached the door. Ty rolled his eyes and left the bathroom too, meeting up with Abby and LabRat in the gaglab.

* * *

 **Authors Note: So it's been absolutely ages since I've worked on this story, or so it feels to me. I had written this chapter but never submitted it so now, I was able to look back on it and make some changes. I'm happy for that and I hope you all enjoy.**


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